# Darklight



## Lorem Ipsum (Jun 23, 2008)

I'm going to repost the bit of fiction I had written. I have also given the chapters names, which I thought I'd never do.

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*I - Beginnings and Reflections*

Love... is a strange thing. So is hate, and courage, and fear, and happiness. Nobody can ever understand them. But, even though we don't comprehend these things, it feels... natural, to a certain extent. It's the same with a lot of things.

A thought, a feeling, a fear... it's all the same. In every mind, there is fear, and in every human heart, there is love. And... to think... we were filled with it all when we were born... and that's why we learn. We need to find the source of it all. And we here feel that we finally have...

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It was a perfect scene. Birds fluttered around the wood, playing with each other while they sang. The creatures seemed to be happy working in their homes, while listening to this beautiful chorus.

Beyond the trees of the homes of the animals was a wide river, its clear water glinting as it rushed across the shingle, moving with the mullet as they darted downstream. From the thick canopy above, the light shone as through as green, tinted rays of warmth dancing on the water's surface, and bedazzling anything near it with radiance and beauty.

But go further than this place, where everything is perfect, to an area where exotic plants thrived, where the fruits on the passionflowers were ripe enough to eat, where the papayas were growing. This was beauty at its best, nothing had ever gone wrong here. And that was all down to the centre of the forest, and what lay there. For in the precise centre, sitting on an old tree stump, was a small, but beautiful sapphire.

The radiant blue colour that seemed to emanate from it tinted the heavy air surrounding. Its glassy surface shone in the sun, a blinding beacon to those who looked upon it. Its cleanly cut edges were perfect in every way. In the centre of it was a spiral of deeper blue, making your mind swim and lose all consciousness of yourself; all focus would be upon that one spot in the gem.

It was a humble stone, and the way it sat there made you think that it was ordinary. But ordinary was the furthest from the truth you could possibly get. This sapphire was time and space. It was war and peace, earth, wind, water, fire. Everything was the sapphire. The sapphire was everything. Without it, there would be nothing. Without it, the world would be blank.

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Liam Johnston was clambering up a cliff in the Forest of Watch, and the people already at the top were closely looking at what he was doing. He had short, chocolate brown hair, and sea green eyes. His face was pale, and was unblemished, except for the beginning of a scar that travelled from the left of his chin to his Adam’s Apple, forming a perfect half-heart shape. He went down a storm with the girls he knew, and as a well known ladies’ man.

As he reached up his muscular arm to grip onto a rock above him, he noticed how far he was behind everybody, so making haste to catch up, clambered up the cliff onto a small ledge where everybody had just started the descent.

Liam just managed to catch one of his friends, and his breath quickly, as he stood at the top of the cliff.

	“If you’re going to get down by darklight, you’re going to need to hurry!” the friend panted, clearly out of breath from the speed that he was expected to climb. Liam shook his head and grinned. It was early. It couldn’t be coming now. But his friend was right. The stars were beginning to emerge, and darklight was approaching fast. The Nox birds of the Watch were waking, and narrating the day’s death with a wall of harmonious singing.

Liam was mesmerised by this music, but knew that he couldn’t wait much longer. The darklight took no prisoners. It was merciless and death bringing. So, keen to avoid the fate described in myths, scrambled down the rock face quickly. But as he reached halfway down, something was wrong. The certain clamour of his friends congregating at the bottom was gone. There was nothing to be heard except for the Nox birds in the background. And as if confronted by a terrible beast, it dawned on him.

Darklight had fallen. Destiny had been sealed.

*II - The Other World*

Liam was terrified, and, in his fright, let go of the ledge he was gripping to. Coming back down to earth with a ‘thud’, his mind was swimming. No person had ever been into the haze of darklight, and if they had, then they most certainly never came back. And what if he was one of those people? What if he never returned to his home as he knew it?

He sat there in the mud, thinking pessimistically about the predicament he had got himself into. Nothing had ever scared him this much, nothing at all. He was all alone, in the darklight, with nobody or nothing to help him. But Liam suddenly looked up, and quickly pressed his hands against his ears as a cacophonous shriek filled the air. Suddenly, the harsh yell turned into merely a shrill call, and after that into a masterpiece of sound.

A blazing bird lit up the skies, dancing in around the moon, weaving amongst stars. Its flaming tail feathers lit up the area dimly with eerie warmth, and its magnificent coat of blazing feathers made it stand out in the middle of the darklight.

The beats of its wings made it look at ease amongst the velvet sky, leaving a momentary trail of embers in its wake.

Then suddenly, with a flicker of bright orange flame, the phoenix swooped down from above, and landed in front of Liam.

It was the most beautiful creature that had ever graced his eyes, its glorious body covered in scarlet feathers, its elegant and streamlined wings constantly in blaze.

But nearly as soon as it touched its feet on the soft earth, a transformation occurred.

The phoenix tail feathers turned from their amber colour to almost as white as china, and became thin and elegant legs. The crown of flames that was worn on the phoenix’ magnificent head turned to become long red hair. In seconds, the magnificent bird had changed into a stunningly beautiful woman, the red and orange of the flames that once were her feathers instead being worn as a long, flowing dress.

She stood there, serene and elegant, her perfect face lit with the flame that once burned inside her.

Taking this as a good sign, Liam put a smile on his face, and began to walk over to this beautiful woman, who just stood there, dreamy and vacant.

	“Uh,” mumbled Liam, “Hello. If you don’t mind me asking, who… who exactly are you?”

He waited for a reply as the woman blinked and looked round at him.

	“My name is Harmony. I am the phoenix of the Darklight, as I am sure you can see. Who are you, light-child?”

	Her voice was the most beautiful thing about her. The sound of crystal emanated from her mouth as she spoke, hypnotising the people she spoke to with cantatas of the word, poetic symphonies.

Liam paused, astonished by this woman’s glorious splendour. Her ice blue eyes blinked once again, fixated on his face, waiting patiently for a reply.

	“Oh, uh… my name is Liam…” finally came out as his words, suddenly remembering that he was being spoken to. He repeated the sentence without the stuttering again, to make sure that the phoenix heard him.

	“Greetings, Liam,” she said, smiling now. “It was foretold that you would be coming, and the people have been waiting for you in earnest, frozen in time for 600 years.”

Liam did a double-take in shock. Harmony obviously noticed this, because she smiled and put a long, slender finger to his lips.
	“Silence, light-child. We must take you to the king’s fortress. I will explain everything there.”

	She took the finger away from his lips, and turned round, making to walk. In mid-stride, she stopped herself, and nearly whispering said, “We will walk on foot for the first part of the journey. The second part is far more perilous, however. I will fly you from there.”

Again, Liam wanted to talk, going out of his mind in wonder about one thing or another. Yet Harmony read his expression, and again silenced him.

	“I will tell you when we get there,” were the only words she uttered for a good while, saying them calmly and firmly every time Liam attempted to ask a question. She seemed determined not to speak for the time that they were walking, just venturing forwards in silent convoy.

When the pair finally reached a stop, Harmony looked into Liam’s eyes, and smiled.

	“Hold on tight!” she said, moving Liam’s hand onto her arm.

Suddenly, she made a movement with her arm, and her body became ribbons of flame, the same metamorphosis that Liam had seen before, but reversed.

Harmony suddenly kicked powerful with her legs, and then beat her newly formed wings. When she said to hold on tight, she really meant it; Liam was nearly thrown off of the beautiful bird by the power of take-off alone.

Using his instinct, he clambered onto her back, surprised at the fact that he was not getting scorched by her blazing feathers.

It seemed to be over in seconds, however. As soon as the adrenaline had settled, a town could be seen, with a fortress overshadowing it on a hill nearby. Even though the dark was more evident now than ever, it could be noted that the place was bustling. The village people were at market, and repairs were being made to houses which had become decrepit in the 600 years of nothing that had passed in a few hours in the world that Liam had come out of.

Harmony took a turn, and before having any time to take in the surroundings, landed on one of the fortress walls, where two soldiers were on guard duty. She transformed back to her human form, and swept the long, flowing red hair out of her eyes.

She took a powerful stance, and told the soldiers exactly what to do.

	“Find the king. Tell him that he has come. The boy of the light has returned to our realm.”

As if they knew what was happening, the oldest of the soldiers, in his rusting steel armour, rushed down the set of stairs that was nearby, in a haste that seemed to mean something important.

In the meantime however, Harmony looked round at Liam, and smiled.

	“Welcome, Liam, to the kingdom of Darklight, in all of its glory.”

She looked back over the town, and stood there for a moment, as if reminiscing of a time long lost, a time ravaged by war and evil.

The return had just begun.

*III - Lord, Land and Legend*

Following Harmony’s lead, Liam looked over the battlements of the fortress as well, and instead of squinting to see in the darkness, saw as clearly as if it was perfect daylight. He could pinpoint the tiny little people walking through the streets, he could make out everybody walking in and out of houses, shops and inns. But Liam was quickly interrupted by a sharp tapping on his shoulder.

The same soldier who Harmony had sent a few minutes ago had returned, and by the time Liam looked around, he was being dragged down the spiral staircase to the inside of the heavily protected fort. The phoenix was walking steadily down behind Liam, remaining silent and straight-faced as she walked.

When the three people finally reached the bottom, they could see that this was the place of royalty.

The room was enormous, with a silver throne at the very end of it. A long, black carpet followed along the room, with armed guards facing inwards every metre you walked. They were dressed in purple robes, and each held in their hands a black sword with a silver symbol.

Suddenly, a tall figure stood up from the throne, and began walking towards Harmony, Liam and the still anonymous soldier that was leading them into this room.

As the man came closer, Liam could see the symbols carved into the walls reflected on his crown, which also looked like a helmet of war. His olive skin was shining, tiny droplets of sweat decorating his forehead. The king, for that was what he obviously was, stepped forwards, and took Liam’s hand in his own sweaty palm. Before saying anything, however, he dropped to his knees, in reverence of the boy who stood in front of him.

	“Welcome, great one, to our realm,” he whispered, only audible because of the slight echo in the room.

Liam looked round at Harmony, his eyes widening. He was the great one? Why were people bowing down to him? He was just Liam, ordinary Liam. There was nothing special about him. The phoenix smiled, almost in amusement at what was happening. She stepped forwards at that point, so she was next to Liam.

	“Helix, there will be no need for the flattery today,” she said, in a slightly annoyed tone.

	“Oh, yes… of course,” muttered the king, seemingly waking himself up from his stupor. 

	“Good evening to you, sir,” he said to Liam, now more majestic and composed. His electric blue eyes glinted as he began to explain the situation. “I am Helix, Lord of the realm, king of the Darklight. Welcome to my land.” The king outstretched his arm and made to shake Liam’s hand. The boy returned the gesture, and began to explain who he was.

	“My name is Liam, I come from Lond--,” he began, but was interrupted by the king before he could say anything more.

	“I know who you are, dear boy! You are our saviour! You are the one to rescue us from the darkness!”

A great silence fell over the room as the king said this, almost in disbelief that Liam did not know his fate. Liam looked round at Harmony, asking with his sea green eyes for help.

	“That’s enough for today, Helix,” she commanded, with the same air that she used previously. Harmony obviously was extremely powerful in this realm.

	“Take Liam and I to our rooms immediately, and arrange it so that they are neighbouring.”

	“Right away,” replied the king, a little flustered. “Commander, take the two down to the third level. Give them the rooms in the middle of the corridor.”

	“Yes, sir,” confirmed the commander, before gesturing to Liam and Harmony to go down the spiralling staircase.

As Liam traversed the halls, he could see that this wasn’t just a castle, it was a hospital, a defence, even a hostel. He was saddened by the people dressed rags, weeping inside their rooms, wounded in the hospital. It was not a friendly place, this world.

Suddenly, as if struck by a bolt of thunder, Liam fell to his knees in pain, clutching his head. It throbbed uncomfortably as he squirmed to cope. Pictures and memories flooded his mind, loosely connected but still confusing him, swimming around. He saw battles that he had not even known about, he saw deaths of people that he’d never seen before. Harmony stepped over to him, and hoisted him up by his left hand.

	“You’re beginning to remember, I see,” she whispered as she as good as dragged him along the corridor after the soldier, who seemed to be absolutely oblivious to what was happening.

	“R-remember what?” asked Liam through gritted teeth, obviously still in agony.

Harmony looked at him meaningfully, and then breathed, “Yourself”.

The two stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, and Liam’s attack seemed to have subsided. They suddenly stopped, and they were bought back to their senses.

	“These two doors are your rooms,” he said, pointing to doors numbered 184 and 185. “Madam, you are in 184, sir, you are in 185. They are conjoined by a single door, always unlocked in case of emergency,” he explained. “Good night,” he said, before finally walking back the way they came.

Liam pushed open his door, and walked inside. It wasn’t much. The most prominent feature was an antique four poster bed to one side of the room. Liam walked over to the metal door, and twisted the handle. Sure enough, it was unlocked, but not wanting to disturb Harmony, he stepped over to the bed. Pulling aside the velvety purple curtain, he jumped on the soft, feathery mattress, also coloured a shade of royal purple.

He lay silent and still for a few minutes, before stripping out of his clothes, and putting on a navy nightgown. Exhaling slightly, he once again sat down with a quiet ‘flump’, and remembered the fast paced day. He wondered whether it was so bad after all; he seemed to be revered by all of the natives that he had met so far, and nothing was being asked of him as of yet. However, he expected this to change soon, and briefly wondered what he was brought here to do.

Liam suddenly heard a knock on the door linking his and Harmony’s rooms.

	“Come in,” said Liam, wondering what the phoenix needed to come inside for.

Harmony strode in, wearing a near-opaque white nightgown. Her red hair was tied up into a bun, and she looked relaxed. She sat down on a small chair, and then, she began to speak.

	“You have been asking me all day why you are here,” she uttered. Taking out the net in her hair with one hand, she opened the small window in the side of the room. Moonbeams reflected brilliantly on her head, as dust danced in the light.

	“It is now time for me to tell you. I cannot say the whole truth, but you will know enough by tonight to suffice.” Harmony shut her eyes briefly, and was silent for a few seconds. There was a flicker of purple, and a sole candle began to glimmer in the darkness, reflecting off of the glossy surface of her eyes. She looked directly at Liam, and began.


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## Dragon_night (Jun 23, 2008)

Ah, good to see you're re-posting (which means you'll continue, right? RIGHT?)

Anyway, just posting to point out that you still haven't fixed the double spacing between the dialogue >_>

Keep it up!


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## Lorem Ipsum (Jun 23, 2008)

Hot damn, I'll do it now. And yes, I am still writing it. I hope that this is the first thing that I'll ever finish :D


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